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candal that had sent shock waves through his hometown. There was no way he was going to burden her with any more of his misery.
She let out an indelicate snort. “You look like you’ve been run over by a truck.”
Cameron shoved his hand through his hair and let out the breath he’d been holding. He stood up from his chair to face her. “I can’t believe this is happening. Paige thinks she can undo the damage she and Robert caused. She thinks she can just stroll into town after all this time and put all the pieces back together.”
“I heard every word she said,” Hazel admitted, rolling her eyes. “She always did have a pie-in-the-sky mentality.”
He frowned at her. “You were eavesdropping?”
Hazel planted her hands on her hips. “It’s called watching out for me and mine. I saw the carnage she caused the first time around. I’m not about to let it happen again. Not on my watch!”
A sigh escaped his lips. “Hazel, I love you dearly, but I’m begging you to stay out of this. And whatever you do, please don’t tell Jasper or Boone that she’s back. I want a little time to digest everything before complete chaos breaks out.”
Hazel quirked her mouth. A sinking feeling landed in the pit of his stomach.
Cameron folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his gaze. “Hazel,” he said in a reproachful tone. “I hope you didn’t—”
The door of the Moose Café burst open with a loud crashing sound. His brother Boone, town sheriff, and his grandfather, Mayor Jasper Prescott, came barreling into his establishment.
“Hey! Didn’t you two read the sign? We’re closed,” Cameron shouted, knowing it was too late to stop the impending hurricane from whirling all around him.
Jasper darted his gaze around the café. “Where is she?”
Cameron crossed his arms again and rocked back on his heels.
“Who are you talking about?”
“You know who I’m talking about. That beautiful blonde trickster you were so enamored of for all those years. Miss Paige Reynolds. Daughter of the most crooked man who ever stepped foot into Love.”
“Jasper! Knock it off! Let’s keep the drama to a minimum,” Boone barked. “Give him an opportunity to talk.”
“I can’t believe she had the nerve to come back here,” Jasper fumed. “Returning like a bad penny!”
“Settle down, Jasper,” Boone said, reaching out and clasping his hand around his arm.
He shrugged off his grandson’s hand. “I won’t settle down. As town mayor, I implore you to arrest her, Sheriff Prescott,” Jasper said in a raised voice.
“There’s no proof that Paige had anything to do with her father’s scam,” Boone explained. “We already went through this dozens of times. There’s no grounds to charge her.”
“There never was,” Cameron said, a slight defensive edge to his voice.
Boone shot him a curious look. Cameron looked away from him. His older brother had a canny ability to see straight through him, right down to the things that mattered most. He couldn’t afford that intense scrutiny right now, not when he was battling old feelings that were rising up in him like a strong tide.
“What about aiding and abetting a criminal? Rumor has it she reunited with that thieving dog once we ran her out of here. Doesn’t that prove they were in cahoots?” Jasper asked.
Cameron shook his head at Hazel. “How long did it take you to call them? Two minutes?”
“I figured we might need a small army to run her out of town again,” Hazel explained, her expression sheepish. “And they did need to know about her plans to give back the town’s money.”
“No one is getting rid of Paige,” Boone said. “I’d like to talk to her about the funds she wants to return. That’s important for Love’s finances.”
“And our future! This town needs money in the coffers,” Jasper growled. “If you ask me, we should charge her interest.”
Cameron rolled his eyes, resisting the impulse to show his grandfather the door. “Funny you should say that, since I don’t remember asking you.”
“So, Cameron. What did she say, exactly? How much is she giving the town? I must have missed that part,” Hazel said.
“I don’t know,” Cameron mumbled, feeling foolish that he hadn’t asked her for specifics. He’d been so blown away by her mere presence that he hadn’t homed in on it. Was she really prepared to give a hefty sum of money?
